Archives for January 2016

Review: MAC Face and Body Foundation

January 22, 2016 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

I could only think of two specific foundations that I want to try and one of them is the MAC Face and Body foundation. I used to not have access to this specific foundie because there is no MAC Pro in PH and that this product was only exclusive at PRO stores. Luckily, MAC finally made this foundation available locally and I finally got a hold on one.

I’m curious about this foundation because it gets mixed reactions from beauty experts. For reference, I am NC 30, light-medium with warm undertone.

The MAC face and body foundation have a very thin, watery consistency. The consistency is the thinnest I’ve come across. The thinness of the formula could be a caveat to some but if you layer the product and blend in between layers diligently, you get beautiful results.

After using the product for weeks, I finally understood why MAC took so long before making this available in non-pro boutiques: the application is tricky. You just can’t shake the bottle and slap on the foundation. You literally have to baby the formula to get an ideal finish.

I would say, this foundation is not suitable if you are breaking out, have acne or generally bad skin. The product does not cover blemishes, dark marks, and hyperpigmentation very well. What it does is it evens out the skin tone and banishes redness.

My tip is to pour a small amount at the back of your hand and start tapping the liquid to “thicken” it a bit as it starts to dry. Then, spread the foundation thinly and evenly on one side of the face. Do the tapping motion again at the back of your hand before applying the second layer. Finally, get a clean buffing brush and start buffing the product on the skin to get an even finish.

Two layers of MAC face and body foundie

As you can see, this foundation is not exactly the best one to use when you are in a hurry. But I feel that the extra effort is worth is because as the day progresses, the finish becomes even prettier.

The wear time is pretty impressive too! The foundation remains intact until the 8-hour mark. Overall, this foundation is really nice. It’s not the easiest formula to work with but I love how the finish becomes better as the day progresses.

But one glaring drawback that I noticed is that this foundation makes me oil up 2 to 3 hours after application. This is weird because I always use a finishing powder to set the foundation. My skin’s not oily either, it leans towards the dry side. Of course, you can always use a blotting paper to reduce the shine but this is something to consider if you have oily skin.

Review: L'Oreal Color Riche Moist Matte Lipstick Glamor Fuchsia

January 12, 2016 by Tina Lee 5 Comments

Oh, hai! Today’s going to be a quick review of the L’Oreal Color Riche Moist Matte Lipstick in Glamor Fuchsia, which I got as a gift from an old friend.

I usually don’t go for this kind of color, though. The color leans too purple in the tube so if I see this at my local beauty counter, I’d probably won’t try it out. But when you apply it on the lips, it has a great balance of pink and violet. And I do like a nice, strong lip especially if I am sporting an almost bare face. A statement color like this is a great choice if you want to look put together even if you have minimal makeup!

The L’Oreal Color Riche Moist Matte Lipstick in Glamor Fuchsia makes a great statement lippie because it brightens the face so effortlessly. I’m also liking the texture. The texture is quite thin but is almost opaque in one pass. It’s creamy enough that it does not drag on the lips during application.

The lippie is very long-wearing too. I wore this lippie for half a day and it stayed put. It even withstood a meal sans reapplication. Of course, the color was not as strong six hours after but the lippie left a beautiful stain. The stain was hard to remove though and I was using an oil cleanser!

Do note that by the end of the wear, my lips was kind of getting parched. I suggest prepping your lips first so the lipstick will be comfortable to wear. Overall, I love this lipstick. I use it on days when I have literally had no time to primp.

Origins Make a Difference Overnight Hydrating Repair Cream

January 9, 2016 by Tina Lee 2 Comments

Hello and happy 2016, folks! For our first review of the year, it’s the Origins Make a Difference Overnight Hydrating Repair Cream (whew!). Watta mouthful, right? Part of the reason why I switched to a new face cream is that I wanted to upgrade my routine so I don’t break out as much.

I know I’ve been harping on and on about having bad skin lately and this product really helped clear my complexion and lighten acne scars.

The Origins Make a Difference Overnight Hydrating repair Cream gives my skin a dose of nutrients that promote repair. The cream did help banish dark marks and lighten scars after I have a bout of acne. I layer the cream over the Juice Beauty serum and I always wake up to calm translucent skin.

First off, the consistency is beautiful. It has a gel-like, creamy texture that glides like melted butter when applied on freshly cleansed face. The texture could come across as too creamy but my skin sucks this right up in seconds. It does leave the skin a little tacky. I suppose I’d have to switch to a gel-type moisturizer once the summer season rolls in. I have been road testing the same line’s skin treatment and it is fantastic!

I also love the faint citrusy scent of the night cream. I usually hate citrusy scents (i.e. The Body Shop’s Satsuma Line) because it triggers my migraine but Origin’s scent isn’t overpowering at all. I’ve been using the night cream and the skin treatment for two months now and I can safely say it’s not breaking me out.

The pot contains about 50 ML of the cream, which is typical amount for most moisturizers. I thought the cream is well-priced considering how great the formula is.

Overall, this is a great moisturizer for those with very dry skin, the texture is so fabulous and it really helped calm my *apparently* sensitive skin. I love this stuff!

Winter in Tokyo Part 4: A Milestone Purchase!

January 2, 2016 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

This will be the final post related to my Japan trip. After this I will shut up about it, I promise, hahaha! Apart from getting pasalubong, I really didn’t go shopping in Tokyo, well, not at the usual level I dare go, hahaha! My trip consisted mostly of eating, sightseeing, and lots of walking.

Of course, walking led to dropping by different stores, hehe. I love the shopping culture in Tokyo and when I grow up, I want all dem Goyard, Chanel, and LVs too!

The Japanese are very chic, even the men. I’ve observed that most men were lining up for hair products in the malls and they always wear Goyard 🙂 wouldn’t it be nice to live in a city where the people are always so chic? You don’t see a lot of that here in the PH, mostly because the country’s poor and the weather’s not ideal for layering.

My sister always tell me, get a bag as a souvenir of your travels. And I took this to heart because I am a bag lover and a collector. My trip was no different, I was shooting for a souvenir bag so I’ll always have Tokyo with me!

Initially, I was only planning to get a Longchamp hobo bag similar to my sister’s navy blue. The bag is roomy, practical and simple.

That burnt orange number is calling me! It only costs about 13,000++ yen or about PHP6-7,000, pretty cheap compared to getting one at Rustan’s. But my sister, who happens to be as big of an LV fan as I am, coaxed me into getting an LV instead.

Being a bag lady, you know I cannot resist the temptation. But wait, I was not emotionally prepared to get one!

And at almost PHP65K, I was unsure if I’d want to part ways with that amount of money four days into the trip. But part ways, I did.

My sister always wanted an Alma MM in monogram and our trip was the best time to get one. Also, there is an LV store at any mall in the metro so it’s so easy to get an LV. She got her dream bag at Ginza’s flagship LV store. I got mine in Shinjuku’s flagship store. Here’s my sister with her brand new Alma:

Don’t you just love family pictures? We call our bags “The Twins.” Hahaha! I chose a Speedy Bandouliere 30 as my first LV. I loved the bag for its roominess, practicality, and classic shape. It’s so gorgeous in person!

Check out the details on my new LV Speedy Bandouliere 30:

The craftsmanship is exquisite and I’m in love with the details. And because I simply do not “like” things, rather, I “obsess” about them, I plan to get another bag maybe in March if things go well.

I plan to get the Turenne MM. Here’s what she looks like as a GM, which is the largest size:

Isn’t she pretty? I’m planning to get it on my birthday. That is, if LV PH has this specific model in stock. I also plan to get a couple of wallets in the near future 🙂 I’m already saving up and I’m very excited!

Apart from the bag, I only got a couple of beauty stuff like Shiseido brushes (super cheap in Tokyo) and eyelash curler, as well as a couple of Hello Kitty compact mirrors similar to the ones I had as a kid.

My sister got me a Comme des Garçons shirt, which is so awesome because it has polka-dot print that I am so cray cray about! Before getting the bag, I was thinking of buying the matching polka dot wallet by the same brand.

You might be wondering why I never bought any skin care products and that’s because I was having issues with my skin so I didn’t want to use another set of skin care.

To wrap up, my sister and I might be returning to Japan next year. I’m already saving up for the trip hoping I get to do lots of shopping the second time around, hahaha!

2015: The Year in Review

January 1, 2016 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

* It’s that time of the year when I round up all the wonderful, wonderful events of the year past and cram ‘em into a single post.

If I am to sum up my 2015, I would say it has a lot of highs and little to zero lows. As with every new year, I started out with a few resolutions, one of which is to go out more. You see, I am a workaholic and I always spend my day in front of the computer, writing or watching funny cat videos. I thought I made good of that promise because I got to travel locally and overseas more than a couple of times this year 🙂

I started 2015 by visiting Tagaytay with my SO to be with his family. We are in the middle of El Nino right now so I truly miss the chilly weather! My boyfriend’s aunt and cousins from Jordan visited PH and we were there to show them around Tagaytay.

That was a lotta fun! Of course, we ate a ton of food. Moving on, my boyfriend and I celebrated our birthdays (our birthdays are less than a week apart) in beautiful Bohol!

Being a beach baby, I love spending every waking hour near the beach just swimming, getting a little tan, eating and trading jokes (along with hopes and dreams!) with the boyf.

I also adopted a new cat, a puspin I named Kaiju. True to form, Kaiju is quite the little monster. We actually had him neutered on December 31 because I wanted him to start living healthily as the new year approaches.

And speaking of little monsters, my year won’t be complete without celebrating my Dimitri’s 6th birthday. I can’t believe my cat has aged so much, it makes me sad sometimes! As per tradition, I dressed him up on his special day and threw a feast. He loved the ice cream and his fave Fancy Feast.

2015 was also a great year for touching base with friends. I met up with several friends, parted with others, and ate a ton of stuff.

I was also busy prettifying my little house! I added bits of furniture and played with colors more.

I’m not satisfied with the results yet because redecorating a house will take more than a few months. And when you’re writing for a living, you’re not being paid enough to get nice things, hahaha!

I hope that this year, I will continue with the renovations and create a really beautiful living space for my cats and I, hahaha!

For our 4th year anniversary, my boyfriend and I had a week-long celebration that started with romantic dinner dates and then a staycation at the new Marco Polo Ortigas.

The hotel is really great and I love how attentive and lovely the staff members are. My boyfriend and I enjoyed our stay so much that we plan to return for our birthday this year. I’m actually hoping that we get to visit another beach spot but we’ll see!

I also took my little brother to the city for his annual visit. We went to museums, malls, and did bits of shopping too.

My boyfriend was also kind enough to take my brother to his first court-side basketball game!

The final quarter of 2015 has been hella busy for me. For one thing, my sister came home from Kuwait and we planned a trip together. Here she is meeting my little bro and my boyfriend in the airport for the first time.

I literally spent the last months of the year either shopping or eating.

One of the highlights of my year is securing my Japanese visa. I heard that getting a Japanese visa is notoriously hard especially for freelancers. Good thing the Japanese government started easing their measures to attract more tourists.

Getting the visa was quite stressful mainly because of the paperwork involved. Getting all the documents is hard because our local government processes are bloated, stressful, and lengthy.

Another highlight of my 2015 is, of course, my trip to Tokyo with my sister. The trip was a Christmas gift from my sister, can you believe it?

What an experience it was. The highlights of our Tokyo trip are eating authentic sushis, making our way to our second Disneyland trip and revisiting those damn spinning teacups and of course, getting my first LV in Shinjuku:

After our trip, the boyf and I started planning for our first Christmas celebration together. That’s also a milestone in our relationship. We managed to throw a little feast:

The lengua, pasta, and the roasted chicken were prepared a little later so they did not make it to the food collage, pity. The boyf also stuck around until New Year, which is so awesome because I ended the year on a high note.

As far as my professional life goes, 2015 was solid as a rock. But during the latter part of the year, I decided to rock the boat a little and leave a longtime project. A new year, after all, means a fresh start and career-wise, I am ready for a change. I know my 2016 will pave the way for loads of changes, personal or otherwise and I’m going there full steam ahead!

So what a year it has been! I hope everyone had an amazing celebration, especially those who spent NYE alone or far away from home. I’m hoping for even more adventures, lots of good food, and laughter, as well as reconnection with friends. Have an awesome 2016, everyone, cheers!